John McCrae a poet from Ontario who wrote throughout his life, in his poem “In Flanders Field” tells about the death of his dear friend Lieutenant Colonel John who was killed in the “Second Battle of Ypres”. One of the most popular and the most quoted poem from the First World War resulted in using the poem as a means of propaganda, to raise money by the use of breaking the war bonds and most importantly, the poem was used as an appeal for the citizens to help the country by joining the war.
The “red poppies” which grew on the graves of the dead soldiers made remembrance poppy as one of the most significant war symbol for the soldiers who died fighting in wars for their own countries.
In his poem “In Flanders Field”, John McCrae clearly portrays his feelings about the death of his fellow soldier friend and how the death transited the struggle in his life with the peace of mind he attained. Written from the point of view of a dead person, “In Flanders field” was the most popular poem of the era. The poem if read properly is the exact description of the scene that a soldier faces while fighting for his own country, the poem also truly and beautifully describes the growth of red poppies on the graves of the soldiers.
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The reader is mesmerized by the poem mainly because of the reason that the poem exactly explains the view of the graves of the dead soldiers, the beautiful poppies in a way explain the happiness of the dead soldiers because they died fighting for their motherland. They are different from the normal people who die because their death is marked by patriotism. The poet is witnessing sleepless nights because he cannot take the picture of his dead friend out of his mind. Though the poet is proud of his friends sacrifice, but still bearing the death of someone you love is nearly impossible.
John McCrae in a way gives an important message to the readers; they shall never forget the fact that if today they are living this beautiful life in a free country; it is only because of the sacrifice of thousands of these soldiers. The citizens in general should never forget that they should always be ready to support their country, their motherland if the situation demands so.
The poem was written way back before the time when the war started appearing bitter and lost its romanticism feature. Though the poem has been criticized for being vicious and stupid and having two different tones by historian Paul Fussell, still it remains the best poem which brings out the patriotic feelings out of a readers heart.